1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a system and method for providing adaptability of multichannel video receiving equipment to a plurality of conditional access security units, and more specifically to a system and method for providing a navigation device with the ability to function with a plurality of different Point of Deployment (POD) modules which provide a security function for cable television programming.
2. Discussion of the Background
As any cable television subscriber knows, receiving the full selection of cable programming requires the use of a cable set-top box obtained from the local cable television provider. These set-top boxes include functional features that allow the cable television subscriber to, among other things, receive a cable signal from the provider, output audio and video from the set-top box to a television set, and select programs for viewing. In addition, the set top box includes a security feature that allows the cable provider to prevent unauthorized subscribers from viewing conditional access programs such as pay-per-view and premium programming.
Traditionally, cable operators have provided subscribers with set top boxes that include both the functional features as well as the security or conditional access feature embedded in an integral unit. As conditional access systems vary among regional cable operators, cable television subscribers have been forced to lease set-top boxes from their local cable provider rather than purchase a set-top box which may not work if the subscriber switched cable providers. The only circumstance in which a subscriber could own and use his or her own cable television equipment is where the subscriber only received “basic” programming which was not subject to conditional access functionality. Moreover, since cable provider specific set-top boxes generally serve a small regional market of consumers, national consumer electronics manufacturers have generally been unwilling to enter the set-top box market thereby impeding the development of high tech cable boxes that are expected to be the gateway to a host of services in coming years including high speed Internet links, on demand movies, and interactive television.
In an effort to promote interoperability of set top boxes among cable providers and attract more competition into the cable box market, the FCC recently adopted rules which require cable providers to make available a separate security module known as a point of deployment (POD) module to their subscribers who may then purchase a generic “navigation device” which includes only the functional features of traditional set-top boxes. A navigation device is a generic term used by the FCC rules when referring to set top boxes and other equipment used to receive multichannel video such as cable television programming and other cable services provided by cable operators and other multichannel video providers. Thus, the FCC rules attempt to allow cable subscribers to purchase a generic navigation device from a manufacturer, retailer, or other vendor not affiliated with the cable provider, and obtain only the POD security module from the cable provider. Moreover, if the subscriber changes cable providers for any reason, a different POD module could be obtained from the new provider that would work in the generic navigation device.
Despite efforts of industry groups to develop a standard specification that would ensure this level of compatibility between the POD modules and navigation devices, however, there remains a strong incentive for POD manufacturers to produce POD modules that are compatible only with a specific navigation device. Indeed, traditional set-top box manufacturers have already begun to manufacture POD modules that will only operate in their own generic navigation devices thereby essentially forcing cable providers to deploy the POD and navigation device to subscribers as a set, and preventing interoperability of navigation devices among cable providers that deploy different PODs.